Services for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in London have reached a defining moment as they experience ongoing increasing demand and growing cost pressures.
As London Councils’ new Executive Member for Children and Young People, I particularly welcome the new Green Paper from the Government which sets out proposals aimed at making it easier for children and their families to access appropriate and timely support.
It is great to see recognition from government on the pressing need for all children with SEND to have access to high quality support that meets their needs, and we look forward to working alongside them to ensure this support is achieved and maintained. However, there are still a number of key challenges facing services for children with SEND in addition to the proposals set out in the Green Paper that need to be addressed in order to sufficiently bridge this gap.
The introduction of the Children and Families Act in 2014 made important changes to the SEND system, including extending the age range of eligibility up to 25 years of age. This extension led to many more children being identified with SEND and requiring vital support which put more pressure on the SEND system. However, the Act did not provide sufficient funding to keep up with this rising demand and despite the best efforts of local authorities, health partners and education partners, local provision is unfortunately often hugely oversubscribed.
There is simply not enough capacity in the current SEND system to keep up with demand, both in terms of the workforce and funding. Despite increased investment by the Government, London boroughs’ accumulated Dedicated Schools Grant deficit is forecast to reach around £400m by the end of 2022-23, largely as a result of overspends in the High Needs Block. We are looking to work with government to find long term investment solutions that match the current gap and create a sustainable infrastructure moving forwards. While we are grateful for previous funding, it is not enough to keep up with the growing pressures on the SEND system.
To secure improved results for children with SEND and reduce long term costs, it is pivotal the government pump primes the system to support more early years intervention efforts. By investing more in early intervention in the longer term, this investment should reap rewards with fewer children requiring costly interventions as needs are met at the earliest opportunity. With some children in London waiting over two years for an Education Health and Care needs assessment, investment is needed now to ensure that children can be supported as early as possible.
With recent changes to the Health system, from CCGs to Integrated Care Boards, we also ask that there is clear governance and accountability for all partners to ensure statutory roles and responsibilities are fulfilled.
We welcome the focus in the Green Paper on making mainstream schools more inclusive but ask that there is clear alignment and parity with the academic aspirations set out in the School White Paper to ensure that inclusion is seen as a priority for all schools. This would help to alleviate pressure across the entire SEND system and provide more children with SEND access to a wider education, and vitally, better long-term outcomes. We support the Government’s proposals to develop clear, transparent standards for academies around inclusion and a clear structure for accountability when it comes to children with SEND. Local authorities are well placed to hold all local schools to account around admissions and exclusions, working closely with the new Department for Eduction regional teams, in order to ensure that all local schools are inclusive and enable all students to achieve, particularly those with SEND.
London Councils will continue to champion the needs of every child, including those with SEND, and work closely with partners across the capital, with government, and most importantly with families, to improve the education and long-term outcomes for every child in London.
Cllr Ian Edwards is London Councils’ Executive Member for Children and Young People